76-854 Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies

9–12 units, Carnegie Mellon University

Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies provides a comprehensive overview of the history of literary theory from the early twentieth-century until today with a focus on cultural studies as a discipline. This course offers a theoretical genealogy of both literary theory and cultural studies, showing how and why such theories and practices emerged and developed. The focus of the course will be on several historical changes in cultural studies, from idealism to materialism, from mono to multiculturalism, and from high culture exclusiveness to democratic inclusivity. Students should, by the end of the class, have a sense of where literary theory and cultural studies came from, the major figures, concepts, and texts associated with this discipline and methodology, and of the problems and possibilities raised by the theories they continue to invoke.

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Fall 2026, Fall 2025

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